Android users to get a new way to unlock their phone — Explained
Google is currently working on a new feature that could protect Android users from data loss if they forget their PIN or enter it incorrectly too many times. It was spotted by Android Authority, while taking a closer look at data from the QPR2 beta for Android 17.
According to the site’s findings, it’ll be possible to unlock your smartphone via your associated Google account if you’ve used up all your PIN attempts or have simply forgotten your code. As Android 17 has drastically reduced the number of PIN attempts allowed (only 20 attempts in total are permitted before the device is locked), this could sorely be needed.
Normally, once all attempts have been used up, there’s no choice but to reset the device to its factory settings. However, this means you’ll lose all the data and settings stored on the device. Unlocking via your Google login is then the last and only way to prevent data loss.
Logging in via your Google account is necessary to verify that the smartphone really does belong to you. However, for this to be an option, you must have protected your Google account with a secure password (and ideally also with multi-factor authentication) so the device can’t be unlocked by anyone unauthorised.
Google has also recently introduced the option to sign in to your Google account using a selfie, like Apple’s Face ID. In an age of growing threats from AI, however, this might not be entirely secure either, as fraudsters could attempt to use an AI-generated image based on social media posts or other public images of you.
When will the feature be available?
At present, the ability to unlock your Android using your Google account is still in development. Google hasn’t included it in the current beta version of Android 17 QPR2, so it won’t be released in the coming months. We therefore suspect that the feature will be part of QPR3, which is expected to run until March 2027.
Recommended reading: Everything you need to know about Android 17
